How to Make a Tutu: A Tutorial

This tutu tutorial is the #1 post ever on Feels Like Home. I originally posted it in 2009, and it has been viewed and shared all over the world as parents make tutus for their little princesses, fairies, and ballerinas. I hope you enjoy it again today.

For her second birthday, I made Grace a no-sew tutu. It is one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen.

You know we’re anti-princess around here, but I thought a tutu would be a perfect dress up piece. Tutus are all about imagination and whimsy. Tutus can work for ballerinas or fairies or special birthday girls.

It was the perfect project for a momma who was injured and lying on the couch. It’s very simple and most of it can be done while lying down.

Homemade Tutu

Materials

Tulle – I used about 10 yards of tulle, sold by the yard. You should be able to get rolls of 4″ or 6″ tulle, but I couldn’t find any. I allowed Grace to choose her colors, and she picked purple and yellow. I bought 5 yards white, 3 yards purple, and 3 yards yellow, but if I was starting over, I’d just do half purple and half yellow. The white diluted my colors more than I would have liked.

A length of 1/2 inch elastic or ribbon

Spools of matching grosgrain ribbon (I omitted mine at the last minute because Grace hates her tutu, but if she decides to like it some day, I’ll add them.)

Measure Your Child

Waist – If you’re going to use elastic, cut a length of 1/2″ elastic that is 2 inches shorter than your child’s waist. If you’re using ribbon, you will need to cut her waist measurement plus 2 feet or so, enough to tie the tutu onto her body.

Waist to knee – This one is simple. How long do you want the skirt to be? I think Grace might have hated her tutu less if it was shorter. I’m thinking about cutting it off at the bottom.

Instructions

Joe did this part for me. Cut the tulle into strips that are 4″ to 6″ inches wide and twice the finished skirt length. I made my tutu 18″ long, so my strips needed to be 4″ by 36″ wide. I had more strips than I thought I’d ever need. That’s just about the right number. (Note – 18″ is far too long. Go with 12″ or even 8″ instead. The longer tutu got really scraggly over time and overwhelmed my little girl.)

If you’re using elastic, overlap the ends and sew. I couldn’t use my sewing machine, so I did it by hand. I would have preferred my machine. No matter.

Grab 3 pieces of tulle and stack it nicely.

Fold it in half. Loop the center point under your waistband
then pull the ends down over the waistband and tuck them into the loop. Pull the ends so that the top makes a loose knot.

If you pull the knot too tight, it will curl and stretch the elastic, be difficult to work with, and need to be loosened later. I’m just saying.

Good. Not too tight and not too loose.

Too tight. I had to pull these all out a bit.

Repeat that process another thirty or thirty-five times. I started out with a pattern, but I abandoned it in favor of whatever looked nice. I ended up with 38 knots, and my tutu is sufficiently fluffy.

If you’re going to use ribbons, you can tie them over top of the tulle in the same way. Alternately, you can tie them in shoelace-type knots over top of the tulle. Either way would look nice and leave long tails hanging down in the tulle.

That’s it. Your tutu is finished.

I considered a waistband to finish off the top and make the whole thing less scratchy. I also considered gluing some little flowers or some glitter onto some of the pieces. I’m not doing either of these things since Grace hates her tutu, but I might some day.

Alternate uses for a homemade tutu

If your husband spends two hours cutting tulle, and then you spend four or five hours tying knots in tulle, and your child refuses to even put her feet in her tutu, you will find alternate uses.

Tulle makes nice scrubbies for the shower. I didn’t take it apart. I’m hoping that some day, she’ll change her mind.

I bought my g’toddler an apron when she was going on two and she wouldn’t put it on. She wanted everyone else to put it on. Finally realized since she couldn’t see it on her, she just didn’t “get it.” So, trotted her over to a mirror and held it up to here and bingo! Now she doesn’t cook until she puts on an apron (and washes her hands).

And some kids just don’t enjoy play-acting or dress-ups. (Is she a Taurus by chance?)

I bought my g’toddler an apron when she was going on two and she wouldn’t put it on. She wanted everyone else to put it on. Finally realized since she couldn’t see it on her, she just didn’t “get it.” So, trotted her over to a mirror and held it up to here and bingo! Now she doesn’t cook until she puts on an apron (and washes her hands).

And some kids just don’t enjoy play-acting or dress-ups. (Is she a Taurus by chance?)

Really enjoyed your tutu post–it was not only helpful to prospective tutu-making Moms, but hilarious–especially the alternative uses for a tutu. Would it be OK for us to use a couple of photos to let our readers know about it, with full credit and links to your blog? Thanks for getting back to me! Just adorable!!

Really enjoyed your tutu post–it was not only helpful to prospective tutu-making Moms, but hilarious–especially the alternative uses for a tutu. Would it be OK for us to use a couple of photos to let our readers know about it, with full credit and links to your blog? Thanks for getting back to me! Just adorable!!

OH MY GOODNESS. You are a godsent for posting this. I am going to make my 3 yro daughter a tu-tu & a long sleeve leotard w/ my little pony on the front. This is exactly what I need to walk me through the process. I love how you put this together. Grace is so lovely.

Thank You so much for the tutu tutorial & info. I hope I can do this. (my daughter will probably put it on & try to go out to play basketball.)

OH MY GOODNESS. You are a godsent for posting this. I am going to make my 3 yro daughter a tu-tu & a long sleeve leotard w/ my little pony on the front. This is exactly what I need to walk me through the process. I love how you put this together. Grace is so lovely.

Thank You so much for the tutu tutorial & info. I hope I can do this. (my daughter will probably put it on & try to go out to play basketball.)

Thanks for the great tutorial! Made making the tutus so easy. I tackled my first one last night and my dd loves it. She just happened to pick the same colors are you daughter. Now, I have 7 more to make. They are going to be party favors. The girls are going to love them.
Thanks!
.-= Danielle´s last blog ..DSC_0058 – Copy =-.

Thanks for the great tutorial! Made making the tutus so easy. I tackled my first one last night and my dd loves it. She just happened to pick the same colors are you daughter. Now, I have 7 more to make. They are going to be party favors. The girls are going to love them.
Thanks!
.-= Danielle´s last blog ..DSC_0058 – Copy =-.

Thank you so much for posting this! I’m actually going to use this technique for myself for a Halloween costume at work (I’m going as the Tooth Fairy)! This is so easy and so cost effective. Thanks again!!!

Thank you so much for posting this! I’m actually going to use this technique for myself for a Halloween costume at work (I’m going as the Tooth Fairy)! This is so easy and so cost effective. Thanks again!!!

ahhh!!! I’m so excited!!! I wanted to make my daughter one so bad but was NOT sure where to even begin! This is absolutely adorable and looks fairly simple!!! She’ll be so excited! The ‘toothfairy’ made her a fairy wand with a tulle tutu…that was a little different than a child size tutu though. So she hasnt quite gotten that yet…she’s waiting to lose that first tooth but it’s the only thing she wanted from her!! I thought it reasonable considering it’s the first one! So yes!!! Thank you sooo much for posting this! You’re amazing!!! Absolutely fabulous!!!

ahhh!!! I’m so excited!!! I wanted to make my daughter one so bad but was NOT sure where to even begin! This is absolutely adorable and looks fairly simple!!! She’ll be so excited! The ‘toothfairy’ made her a fairy wand with a tulle tutu…that was a little different than a child size tutu though. So she hasnt quite gotten that yet…she’s waiting to lose that first tooth but it’s the only thing she wanted from her!! I thought it reasonable considering it’s the first one! So yes!!! Thank you sooo much for posting this! You’re amazing!!! Absolutely fabulous!!!

Is the tulle secure or do you to need to keep tightening it. I am trying to find a no sew tutu with secure attachments on elastic. I don’t want to have to keep going back and putting fallen off peaces and/or tightening the tulle. Thanks for your help!

Is the tulle secure or do you to need to keep tightening it. I am trying to find a no sew tutu with secure attachments on elastic. I don’t want to have to keep going back and putting fallen off peaces and/or tightening the tulle. Thanks for your help!

Thank you so much for your insight Tara. I am making tutus for an orphanage foundation my mom is in charge of and have all proceeds go to “children to children” to help. So looks like I know what I am doing tonight. THANKS!

Thank you so much for your insight Tara. I am making tutus for an orphanage foundation my mom is in charge of and have all proceeds go to “children to children” to help. So looks like I know what I am doing tonight. THANKS!

I used your instructions and I just wanted to THANK YOU! My daughter ADORES her Tutu which she refers to as her “skirt” lol Here is a picture of her wearing it. [IMG]http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o37/ZenMama83/DSC01583.jpg[/IMG]

I love your tutu. I am looking for one for my daughter's first pic's and I was about to spend about $75. Now, I can have Grandma make it with love!! You just made my day:) P.S. My first child is Grace, too!!

I would get a couple different shades of purple. You can get dark purple, lavender, and probably even a medium purple. Try a local fabric store or a craft store. You should be able to find lots of different tulle, maybe even some with glitter or sparkles.

I love your instructions. My friend showed me how to do the one I made my little girl. I am going to make tutus for all the girls at my Effys 1st B-day. I have already made wands and fairy tiaras. It is a fairy party.http://hterice.blogspot.com/

I love your instructions. My friend showed me how to do the one I made my little girl. I am going to make tutus for all the girls at my Effys 1st B-day. I have already made wands and fairy tiaras. It is a fairy party.http://hterice.blogspot.com/

Funny! I made my daughter a tutu to wear at her 2nd birthday party and she was scared of it too. Now that she's two and a half and very much into “looking pretty” I'd like to try it on her again, but I got rid of it already because it was just getting in the way.

We buried Grace's in the bottom of her toy box. We were cleaning her room just this week (she's a little past 3), and she found it. She wore it almost all day yesterday and all morning today. It seems for us, 3 is much more into the tutu than 2 was.They're so inexpensive that you could make another one pretty easily. Good luck!

Thank you for this tutorial! I almost paid $30 for one, when I came across this. Now I’ll only have $10 in the project, and I will be proud to say I made it myself! It’s going to be perfect for my 22 year old Fancy Nancy costume Thank you again!

The tulle I got was about 45 inches wide, so we cut 11 strips across the width of the fabric. That’s about 110 yards of strips. I had a lot left over, though. You could probably go with 3 or 4 rolls per tutu and have plenty.

I love the tutu…I started making hairbows for my daughter and she won’t keep them in(she is 17 months) so I started making them for my niece and friends. I decided to add more projects and wanted to try a tutu for my little girl. I just finished it. It is adorable. I didn’t use as much tulle as I probably should have, but next time will. Didnt want to lug 4 kids back to the fabric store:) Thanks for making this so easy!! YOU ROCK

I sat down and made two of them tonight for my husband and I for an upcoming race. I need to make one more, since they will both be destroyed shortly after the race starts, and I refuse to spend the rest of the day in a dirty tutu.

This is really cute. I just made a couple of red tutus for a class I used to teach her in Thailand and the little girls loved them. It only took me a couple of hours, yet they will be the best dressed girls in the school show, LOL. Thanks for the nice photos too!

I made one of these for my 3 yr old. She loves it! I bought smaller spools of tulle that were 6″ wide. I think they were thicker than regular tulle, so I ended up just knotting each individual strand. The only drawback was the sparkle purple tulle I used was a bit scratchy. Otherwise, a success. Thanks for sharing the tutorial!

I’ve never tried. I think it would be okay on my washing machine’s hand wash cycle, but it would depend on your machine. It might get tangled or fall apart. If you don’t have a hand wash cycle on your machine, you might be better off to do it by hand. Let me know how it comes out?

I got mine at Walmart, I think. Fabric stores always carry tulle, too. I think there are also online retailers where you can buy it. That might be the easiest because you could get a roll that’s already cut to the right width.

How would I go about putting a band around the waist? I would like to use satin ribbon. Would it need to be something stretchy? or should I stretch out the elestic then sew the ribbon around the top?
Thanks!

I can’t. But, if I pull the ends tighter the elastic curls? If you take 3 pieces of 6″ wide tulle and fold it in half, the loop I get does not look that together and when pulled into the ‘knot’ it’s big and puffy.

Yes, the elastic will curl if you pull it too tight. It sounds like you’re not getting the tulle pinched tightly enough to start with. It has to be stacked together for the knot to pull down nicely. You may just have to adjust the layers of tulle so that the knot looks better.

I’m going mess around with and see what I come up with. Lol. I’m sure I’ll figure it out. Thank you so much for replying to me. It’s refreshing to comment on someone’s blog/page and get a response. Have a wonderful night, I’ve got tulle to tame. 😉

Two things. Put fewer layers of tulle on the stack before you knot it. Put fewer stacks of tulle on the elastic. I’d first try to put fewer layers of tulle on each stack because putting fewer stacks (and hence, fewer knots) might make it sparse-looking.

[…] know you all love great tutes, too! So here’s a link to one of Tara’s – all about how to create a fabulous child’s tutu (above). Welcome to the home of PA arts & crafts on the web! Whether you’re from PA or Timbuktu, […]